Should everyone living in Austria be entitled to a vote?

More than a third of Vienna’s population (over 600,000 people) do not hold Austrian citizenship. Although these people live, work and pay taxes in Austria – and in many cases were born here – they are unable to have a say in elections. Across Austria, 1.5 million people are excluded from the democratic decision-making process. This poses a problem for the very idea of democracy, because these people are required to obey the law of the land without being able to influence who represents them in parliament. This results in a 'democratic gap' between people simply living in Austria and those who live here and have the power to shape the political system.

The question of belonging begins at birth

This is partly because children of non-Austrian nationals do not acquire Austrian citizenship even if they were born and raised in Austria. In other European countries, such as Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Portugal and the United Kingdom, this is now possible provided the parents have lived in the country for a certain period of time and are well-integrated. Such a scheme could also be introduced in Austria.

In this case, children of non-Austrian nationals would automatically acquire Austrian citizenship if they are born in Austria. This would be effective in closing the democratic gap, particularly if people who are already adults but were born and raised in Austria were also granted Austrian citizenship retroactively. Excluding people born and raised in Austria from fully participating in the democratic decision-making process undermines the fundamental principle of equality. This, in turns, results in those shut out of this process becoming resentful and disillusioned.

In a democracy, participation is primarily achieved through the ability to influence political decision-making. Those who are not allowed to have a say therefore often feel that they do not belong. The chances of these people identifying with Austria and integrating into society would increase if they automatically acquired citizenship at birth.

Why acquiring Austrian citizenship is so difficult

Acquiring Austrian citizenship later through naturalisation, on the other hand, is comparatively difficult. Applicants must not only provide proof of their German language skills but also fulfil numerous other requirements. These include having to prove that they have lived in the country for at least 10 years uninterrupted, are able to meet the relatively high minimum income threshold (currently € 1,300 net for a single person without benefits) and showing that they have given up their previous citizenship. These requirements are a major stumbling block for many people.

In many other countries, however, naturalisation is possible after just 5 years and under less stringent conditions. The idea that strict requirements are needed to incentivise people to 'earn' citizenship, so to speak, completely ignores the reality of life. The truth is that many well-integrated migrants have been contributing to the Austrian welfare state and society for decades but still do not fulfil the high requirements. As a result, only a small number of people succeed in becoming naturalised Austrians.

Who is Austrian politics for – and who gets to decide?

As only Austrian citizens are allowed to vote in most elections, this results in the abovementioned 'democratic gap' between the resident population and the electorate. The only exception to this rule is for citizens from other EU countries, who are allowed to vote in local (but not national) elections. This system of only allowing citizens to vote in a country’s elections is also practised by most other countries around the world. 

One of the quickest and most effective ways to make this a reality would be if people born in Austria were to automatically acquire citizenship. This provision could be subject to the condition that the parents have already been living in the country for a certain period of time. It would also be a sensible step to make it easier for non-Austrian citizens to naturalise later in life. However, this would close the democratic gap much more slowly. The introduction of citizenship by birth in the country, on the other hand, would be particularly quick and effective.

The democratic gap between the resident population and the electorate undermines the ability of Austrian society to integrate non-citizens. It is short-sighted for modern societies with a large migrant population to view integration solely as something migrants are expected to do and to believe that it can be enforced through sanctions. 

Instead, research in the field of social science has shown that migrants identify more strongly with society and are also more likely to apply for naturalisation if they are given a say in the democratic decision-making process at an early stage. At the end of the day, it comes back to the question of who Austrian politics is for and who gets to decide.

• Note: This article is produced in collaboration with the Austrian newspaper DER STANDARD as part of the Semester Question series.